An Awful Lot of Running
by Sadie Revere
Summary: A new Doctor. A new companion. Endless twists, turns, happy endings, not-so-happy endings. My interpretation of the 12th Doctor. Sorry for the bad summary.
1. Chapter 1

**Yay, another DW story! Always fun. This doesn't really have a specific Doctor, but I guess we can call him the 12****th****. He's quite like 10, but with the bad-a**ness of 11. I'd say he'd be portrayed by Sean Maher (yeah, I know, he's not British, but I love him :D) with spiky hair. I'll post a link on my profile of the picture I'm trying to describe. And he has a new companion. And yes, River is in this. WARNING: Contains spoilers of the Season 6 finale, so if you haven't seen it, a. WATCH IT AS SOON AS YOU CAN and b. don't read this yet. ALLONS-Y!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Doctor Who, though Avery is my character, and the new Doctor is sorta mine. I guess. Not really though.**

Again, I'm running.

By now, the soles of my four-year-old Converse must be at their breaking point. For the past few years, I've been doing an awful lot of running, whether it be from my mum, in a literal sense, or from my problems, in a more metaphorical way.

Bag in hand, I run faster, desperate to break the chain holding me to my mum's flat. Again with the metaphors. I've really got to stop that.

I feel a hand slip into mine, and I turn to see a man running with me.

" 'Ello!" He turns around to look at whatever is chasing him (I don't look; I'm almost too surprised) then pulls me faster. "Okay, now we're really going. Come on!" My dark hair flies out behind me as I run. My legs are about to give out when he pulls me into an alley. I see a shadow race past the alleyway opening, and I gasp for breath, as does the man next to me, whoever he is. The difference between us is, he would be laughing if he wasn't out of breath. I, on the other hand, am scared for my life. "Are you a runner?" he asks. I shake my head no, still too out of breath to speak. "You should be, you're fast! I'm the Doctor, by the way."

"I'm Avery," I say, finally able to breathe right. "Avery Mackay."

The Doctor takes my hand and shakes it firmly. "Nice to meet you, Avery Mackay."

By this point, I'm pretty sure the guy is whacked. Completely and totally insane.

Then, out of the blue, a woman with very curly blond hair ducks into the alley. She bolts towards us, and presses a quick kiss to the Doctor's cheek. "Hello, sweetie," she says cheerfully. Noticing me, she introduced herself. "River Song. Professor, River Song."

"Avery Mackay."

I hear an un-earthly screech, and some creature looking like a large hippogriff charges at us. I scream at the top of my long, and the Doctor pulls me off of my feet and running.

After a minute or two of running, we outrun the beast, and approach a large blue box. The Doctor pulls a key from his coat, and unlocks the door. He and the woman known as River step inside. I stay outside, wondering what the hell this box is.

The Doctor pokes his head out the door. "Come on, then, do you want to be gored to death or not?" He reaches out a hand, and I take it, unsure of how a "Police Box," whatever that is, is going to protect us from that monster.

As I step inside, my jaw drops, and my mind goes completely blank except for one thought that escapes my mouth-

"It's- it's-"

"Bigger on the inside?" River suggests. I nod, unable to form words. "Yeah, I know. You get used to it after a while."

"But- how- what?" I'm so utterly confused that I can only form one syllable words.

"It's called the TARDIS," the Doctor says. "Stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space. It's a time machine. And a spaceship. A little of both, I suppose. It can travel anywhere in space and time, past, present, future, other galaxies, other planets, whenever and wherever you want. So! Where would you like to go, Avery Mackay?"

I'm still in a tabula rasa state, unable to do anything. I feel woozy, and River catches me as my legs give out. She scoops me up like a child, and sits me on a chair right next to a large console of sorts.

"Why don't we let Avery begin to function again before we go anywhere, hm, sweetie? And let me fly, it's a hell of a lot safer and quieter too. Because-"

"I leave the parking brakes on. Hush up, it's my time machine."

"Who's the 'Child of the TARDIS'?" The Doctor's mouth opens, then shuts. My brain begins to work again, and I giggle like a little girl.

"Oi, what's so funny, you?" the Doctor asked, clearly frustrated.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just a little crazy right now, seeing as I'm ON A FREAKING TIME MACHINE! Or so you say, _Doctor_. Who are you, _Doctor?_ I think you're a madman. A madman with a box."

River laughs. "If there's one thing you should know about the Doctor, it's that he _is_ a madman with a box." The Doctor emits an "Oi!" and I'm confused again. "He's not exactly mad, really, just not from here. He's from-"

"I can explain my own history, thank you very much." The Doctor straightens his tie. "I am not from here. I'm from a planet in another galaxy called Gallifrey. I travel through space and time, lately I've been traveling with River, here. I can't really just leave her anywhere, seeing as she's my wife. Well, I could, it just wouldn't be right."

"You would never leave me, love. You're too in love with me to even think about leaving me anywhere."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Whatever. So, where would you like to go, Avery Mackay? A new galaxy? The past? The future? I've been to the end of the world, you know. Rather exciting. Saw an old friend of mine there."

My mind freezes temporarily again, but soon resumes basic activity. "Erm, you decide. I honestly don't care."

"River?"

River thinks for a minute, then answers, "Torchwood?"

The Doctor's face lights up, and I'm confused for about the third time in ten minutes. "Torchwood! Yes, we should go to Torchwood!" The Doctor skips off to the console, but River beats him to it.

"Not so fast there, sweetie. Maybe for the first trip we should take it easy, yes?" River flips some switches, pulls some levers, presses some buttons, and within only about thirty seconds, she informs me,

"We are now at a different point on the Earth. Avery Mackay, welcome to Torchwood.

**Yay, I finished the first chapter! And I'm going to be wicked tired tomorrow since it's 10:30 PM right now and I have school tomorrow! Reviews+alerts=love. Love= me happy. Me happy=me write. MAKE ME HAPPY PEOPLE!**

**Sadie**


	2. Author's Note

Hi everyone,

I was wondering, should I continue this story? I think I mighta lost it but if I reread the first chapter I can probably get back into the spirit. Tell me what you think. I'm not going to continue it if no one thinks it's any good.

Thanks,

Sadie


	3. Chapter 2

**Dear Dead-God! It's been quite a while! (another reference, cyber-cookies to anyone who knows) I apologize again, it's truly been ages. I know I said I would do a ton of updating and I'm sorry. Life (and tickets to a concert) got in the way. But I have a ton of time tonight and tomorrow in which I will try to update. I just don't know what to update. :( Whatever. I'm actually multitasking and attempting to write and clean up my room. Well, either way, here we are. Oh, and in this Jack and Ianto are together (officially) as are Tosh and Owen. My little twist since none of them actually ended up really together :'(**

River opens the doors of the TARDIS, and I step outside into present-day (or so I think) Cardiff. We're right next to that tower, the tall shiny one. The Doctor pushes past me and onto the sidewalk. River steps next to him, onto the same block.

"Well, are you coming?" River asks, extending a hand. I step onto the stone, ridiculously confused. Suddenly the stone begins to descend, and I let out a yelp. The Doctor laughs, and gives a thumbs up to the sky.

We reach the bottom of the lift, and River leads me off of the platform.

"Welcome to Torchwood, Avery!" I look around in wonder, and I see something looking oddly like a pterodactyl fly overhead. Everything seems… alien, I suppose.

A guy in suspenders comes down to greet us. "Can I help you?" he asks.

The Doctor looks offended. "Jack! It can't have been that long, can it? Well, I did regenerate twice, but still!" The man apparently known as Jack pulls the Doctor into a hug.

"Doctor," he growls playfully. "Damn, this regeneration suits you. Not bad, man, not bad. One second. Please excuse any loud, raucous noise. GANG IF YOUR ASSES AREN'T DOWN HERE IN 30 SECONDS I WILL…" He pauses, thinking of something to say. "WELL, I DON'T EXACTLY KNOW WHAT I'LL DO. JUST GET DOWN HERE!" A group of four came from various places in almost a moment's notice.

"What do you want, Jack?" a Welsh woman asks, clearly annoyed. "I'm trying to finish that report."

"Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Ianto, meet the Doctor." The group looks surprised. "And also…" Jack adds, motioning to River and I.

"O-o-oh, I'm Avery," I stutter. Curse my nervousness problem.

"River Song. I'm the Doctor's wife." Jack looks astounded by this statement.

"You got MARRIED? And you didn't TELL ME?" he shouts.

"Oh, calm down, you," the Doctor says. "It was a little unexpected, to say the least." The Doctor, Jack and River get into an animated conversation about God knows what. Meanwhile, I'm standing awkwardly off to the side, trying my hardest not to be noticed. To my misfortune, I am noticed. I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I spin around to face the Welsh woman whose name I am guessing is Gwen.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Welcome to Torchwood, I'm Gwen." I smile, grateful that she's friendly.

"I'm Avery. Sorry for my inherent mental unstableness, about five minutes ago I was in Scotland and now I'm in bloody Cardiff." Gwen laughs.

"First time with the Doctor?' I nod. "I've only heard stories from Jack, but from what I hear it's quite a rush the first time. The whole "bigger on the inside" thing. Seems… fascinating."

"Fascinating, sure. Disorienting is a better word. But to be honest, I'd much rather be here than home." I mentally slap myself for letting that slip.

"Care to tell? Your secrets will be safe with me. I swear on my grandmother's grave that no one will hear anything from me." I sigh.

"It's a bit of a long story, but I'll do my best. I've kept a lot of secrets in my life. But there was that one secret that I kept locked away in a box in the back corner of my mind." I _really_ have got to stop the metaphors. "I knew that telling would inevitably make my life a living hell. But now, after at least six years of knowing, I told my mom that I'm bisexual. I told one of my closest friends a few years ago, and luckily we're still friends and all. But with my mom it was a different story. She kinda freaked out at me. And threw me out. That section of my life is still sinking in, seeing as it happened ten bloody minutes ago." _Why the hell did I just tell her this?_ I think to myself. _I barely know who this woman is, and now I'm telling her my life story? I really need to shut my mouth sometimes. Which is weird since I'm actually really shy. I've had a bloody strange day, though; can you blame me for mood swings?_

Gwen is silent for a few seconds, then says one of the best things I've heard in a while.

"Avery Mackay, I promise you that it will be alright. Come on, why don't I introduce you to the rest of the team?" She leads me over to the three other people.

"Guys, this is Avery. Avery, this is the rest of the Torchwood team."

"Toshiko Sato," a young Japanese woman says, extending her hand. Not looking up from a computer, a guy apparently focused on his work introduces himself as Dr. Owen Harper, emphasizing the "doctor" part. Lastly a rather attractive guy in a suit introduces himself as Ianto Jones. Gwen whispers in my ear,

"You know Jack?" I nod. "Him and Ianto are together. It's actually really cute, I think."

"I heard that, Gwen," Ianto says, grabbing Gwen's shoulder. "You don't need to whisper."

"Glad you're open about it, Yan," Jack says, wrapping his arms around Ianto's shoulders. I blush internally. _Why can't I have a relationship like that? _I ask myself.

"Jack, why didn't you mention that you were in a relationship?" the Doctor asks. Jack spins around to face the Doctor, spinning Ianto with him.

"Must've slipped my mind, sorry. You never told me you got married, so I guess we're even. But yeah, Ianto and I have been together for, how long has it been, Yan?"

"Um, maybe a month or two?" Ianto shrugs. "I'm going to make myself coffee, anyone want some?" The entire Torchwood team raises their hands.

"Ianto makes the best coffee in the universe, and I mean that literally. I would highly recommend you try some. You won't regret it," Jack says, squeezing Ianto's hand.

"Coffee would be great, thanks," I mumble. Back to shy-girl, bloody fantastic. Ianto leaves the conversation, leaving me at the mercy of Jack Harkness.

"So, Avery Mackay. Where are you from? I'm going to guess, somewhere in Scotland?"

I nod. "North Middleton." Jack's face lights up.

"I love North Middleton! I lived there for a while. Lovely place!" I manage a small smile. Jack claps me on the shoulder. "Lighten up, Avery. I know you're shy, but we're all friendly folks 'round here."

River approaches Jack. "Jack, remember the fact that Avery just experienced her first TARDIS trip and now she's at the base of a team investigating aliens. Give her some time." I give River a grateful smile, which she returns.

"Sorry to cut the reunion short, Jack, but as soon as we finish our coffee, we've gotta get going," the Doctor says.

At that moment, Ianto returns with the coffee, seven cups balanced on a tray. He brings them around to his "teammates," then over to us. Jack presses a quick kiss to Ianto's temple as he takes a cup. Taking a cup from the tray, I take a sip of the steaming beverage, and am amazed at the quality.

"Jack was right, Ianto, this coffee is fantastic." Ianto grins.

We all finish our coffee, exchanging small stories. I stay quiet, still not really wanting to engage in conversation. Like the Doctor had said, eventually River, the Doctor and I have to go. Gwen wraps me in a tight hug, whispering,

"Remember, love, it's all going to be alright." I smile, thanking her for the kind words. I wish Ianto and Jack the best of luck- and also to Toshiko and Owen, who I found out were also together.

Finally, we go back into the TARDIS. I collapse onto a chair, utterly exhausted.

"Avery, sweetie, do you want to go to sleep or something? Believe me, we have plenty of rooms to spare," River asks. I think for a second.

"Actually, that'd be great. I don't want to intrude or anything, though."

River shakes her head, grabbing my suitcase. "You're not intruding, don't worry about it. Let me just find a room that's close to here. Don't want you getting lost in here. Believe me, it's possible. I've done it a few times." River winks, and leads me to a bedroom. I take a pair of sweatpants out of my bag, and crawl into the bed- surprisingly comfortable, I might add- and am asleep in a few minutes.

**I just realized something. The Doctor never defeated the hippogriff thing. I'm too lazy to edit the chapter, so for all intents and purposes he defeated it. Yeah. Like I said, lazy. And it's past 9 and I have a final tomorrow. No edit. Just an update. Reviews please :) **

**~Sadie**


	4. Another Author's Note

**Hi again. Wow, multiple updates in two days. I'm quite proud of myself. I gotta try and keep updating. My problem is that I don't write enough. I try to write in class, but with my classes this semester I don't know if that will be possible. Also, I'm typing slower right now since I have a Band-Aid on my right index finger (AKA my major typing finger) so I'm attempting to do this with other fingers. It's proving to be difficult. That, and I have to use my mom's netbook, which is tiny and has no spellcheck (I don't have Microsoft Word, only Wordpad) so that's a setback. But I will do my best to update. I have plently of new ideas, even though I lost the spreadsheet with all of my stories :-( **

**Also, I have a poll on my profile page, and I would greatly appreciate if you'd vote on it. It would help me so much in prioritizing which stories to update. I will try to finish A New Boho, since I'm pretty sure I have the entire story written out somewhere.**

**Well, adieu for now. Thanks to all who read, review, vote, favorite, alert, etc.**

**~Sadie**


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